CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - The city government here on Thursday said it is in close coordination with national government authorities in monitoring a passenger who came to Manila from South Africa and arrived in the city early this month.

Dr. Teodoro Yu Jr., city health officer, said Thursday during an online briefer the passenger was one of the eight travelers who came from South Africa where the Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 was first reported.

He said the passenger arrived in Manila on November 20, and tested positive the next day, November 21.

When the passenger was declared "clinically recovered" on December 1, he traveled to the city on the same day.

The passenger was tested in the city on December 6, and turned out negative the next day.

"It was here in Cagayan de Oro City where the passenger underwent repeat swab testing after arriving in the city from Manila. We are coordinating with the Philippine Genome Center for any developments on the case," Yu said.

Mayor Oscar Moreno said the passenger was reported in the national news media as being "unaccounted for" after arriving in Manila from South Africa.

"What happened was last Sunday evening (December 5), Dr. Yu received a call from the Department of Health (DOH-10) regional office advising him of this development. In less than four hours, the CHO contacted this person and had him tested the following day," he said.

Yu said he was told by both the DOH-10 and city hall's Health Emergency Management (HEMS) team about the arrival from Manila.

"Upon confirmation of his address, we immediately checked his household for any symptoms and secured his plane ticket and boarding pass and traced his whereabouts through our Higala (online) application," he said. (PNA)